Bruno Lage manager
Bruno Lage insists he ‘doesn’t care’ what formation his Wolverhampton Wanderers team plays. In his five games as head coach to date, Lage has used the same 3-4-3 formation that his predecessor Nuno Espirito Santo enjoyed success with in his four years at the helm. Lage used a back four in his first three pre-season fixtures before an injury to Willy Boly forced the Portuguese to revert to a formation Wolves are more familiar with. A back-line of Max Kilman, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss has started all of Lage’s competitive games in charge, but now that Boly and Yerson Mosquera are fully fit, supporters are wondering whether Lage will change shape. 
But the boss is adamant that the formation is irrelevant because Wolves are now ‘an offensive team’.
Bruno Lage said: “Every time I talk with the players about this. At Benfica, I played 4-4-2, when I was in the youth, under-19 and also in Dubai, I played 4-3-3, and here we play with five at the back. For me, it’s about the principles I want for my team. Every day I say to them, ‘We are an offensive team’ – 90 percent of our work is in the offensive way. Also, we must understand what the players can give. The system is important, but the dynamic is more important. I don’t care about the system; what I care about is that behaviour. The people in the building would be a little bit concerned if we started five at the back (and it was) more defensive. No, this team can play five at the back, and the way we play is offensive. It’s about the principles of the team and the characteristics and profile of the players.”
Central to Lage’s attacking philosophy is Mexican striker Raul Jimenez, who has made a full recovery from a fractured skull to start all four Premier League games this term. Jimenez has registered 11 shots without scoring, which is more than any other player, but Lage has a different way of looking at his number nine’s performance.
Bruno Lage said: “He’s the striker who has created the most chance. That’s the way to see things. Some other strikers score one or two goals and don’t create many chances. Not just him, all the team are creating a lot of chances, but we didn’t score. Not just strikers, forwards and wingers, they live for goals. But Raul is an experienced guy. The dark side of the striker is when you don’t score goals, you start to doubt yourself. That’s why it’s not a concern for me. The way he works for the team, the way he presses, the way he runs, the way he creates a lot of chances, it makes me happy with his work.”
